The invention relates to an office chair having an inflatable bladder therein, and more particularly, to an inflatable lumbar support arrangement for the office chair wherein the bladder is located in the lumbar region of the chair back.
In conventional office chairs having a seat and back rest, it is known to provide bladder arrangements therein wherein the bladder is located in the seat or back rest. The bladder is connected to a manually-operable pump and therefore is inflatable to improve the comfort of an occupant. The bladder typically is supported between an inner plastic shell for the seat or back rest and a cushion which mounts to the shell. The bladder is connected to the pump, and also is connected to a release valve which is selectively opened to reduce or vent completely the fluid pressure in the bladder.
In known chairs, various types of pumps have been used to inflate the bladder. For example, bladder pumps on office chairs have included squeeze bulbs and pushbutton pumps which pumps are mounted to the back rest or seat so as to be accessible by hand. In some of these chairs, the pumps are fully exposed which can be unsightly. In other chairs, the pumps are more discreetly positioned on the chair although this can make it more difficult for the occupant to locate the pump and adjust the pressure in the bladder.
Additionally, the pump and the release valve are separate mechanisms which are manually actuated independently of each other by respective actuation buttons and the like. As such, these prior bladder arrangements can be more difficult to operate since the occupant must first locate the pump for inflating the bladder and then reposition their hand to locate the release valve and reduce the bladder pressure.
Examples of office chairs having inflatable bladder arrangements are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 575,895, 711,575, 5,660,438 and 4,444,430.
It therefore is an object of the invention to provide an improved inflatable bladder support arrangement which overcomes or reduces the disadvantages associated with known bladder arrangements used in chairs.
The invention relates to an inflatable lumbar support arrangement wherein a bladder is located in the lumbar region of a back assembly, although it will be understood that the bladder may also be positioned in the seat of the chair or a chair arm supported on the back assembly or a seat assembly.
The lumbar support arrangement includes a pump unit which pump unit is connected to the bladder and includes a pump and a release valve. The pump unit of the invention includes a single actuator handle which projects sidewardly from below the seat and has an appearance similar to actuator handles used to operate other mechanisms such as a tilt lock mechanism. Thus, the actuator handle has a more aesthetically pleasing appearance.
The actuator handle cooperates with both the pump and the release valve whereby manual movement of the actuator handle in a first direction through a pump stroke effects pumping of the pump to inflate the bladder, while movement of the actuator handle in a second direction through a release stroke opens the release valve to release or vent pressure from the bladder. Accordingly, a single actuator handle is provided which performs dual-functions so as to simplify usage of the lumbar support arrangement.
The pump unit preferably is located below the seat near a rear edge thereof to further simplify usage of the pump unit. In particular, the actuator handle extends sidewardly from below the seat such that the occupant can more readily locate the actuator handle by reaching downwardly. Further, the actuator handle preferably is moved vertically upwardly and/or downwardly which is a more natural, ergonomic movement for the occupant. This arrangement as described in more detail herein is believed to overcome many of the disadvantages associated with known bladder arrangements.
Although a particular embodiment of the invention has been disclosed in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be recognized that variations or modifications of the disclosed apparatus, including the rearrangement of parts, lie within the scope of the present invention.